Distributor-driving mechanism pqr  blast-furnace stacks



March 29 1927.

v A. G. MGKEE DISTRIBUTQH DRIVING MECHANISM FOR BLAST FURNACE STACKS Filed April 25, 1925 Aie@V Patented Mar. 29, 1927.

UNITED STftillS ARTHUR G. VICKEE, F CLEVELAND, OHO.

DISTRBUTOR-DRIVING MECHAll'-SM FOR BLAST-FRTACE STAGES.

Application le. April 25, 1925.

The present invention has to do with the mounting of the upper hopper or distributor and to the means provided for rotating the same Where, as in approved modern practice in charginij blast furnaces, two superposed hoppers are provided at the top of the furnace stack, the upper hopper being,r rotatably supported on the lower and larger hopper in order to facilitate the uniform distribution of the various materials Which are initially received in such upper hopper. The general arrangement of hoppers just referred to Will be found fully set forth in my prior ll. S. Patents No. 864,795, dated September 3, 1907, and No. 890,569, dated June l), 1908, and in certain respects the present construction may be regarded as a modification or improvement of that which forms the subject-matter of my pendingI application liled October 9, 1921i, Serial No. 742,523.

As in such pending application, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a motor drive which is mounted integrally upon the distributor, thus eliminatingl any form of extraneous drive.

As built heretofore the blast furnace distributor has had its driving mechanism partly supported on the distributor itself and partly on the ,gas seal of the. furnace or on the platform of the furnace, both of which are separate from the distributor and likely to shift in their relation thereto, from time to time, due to the expansion and contraction of the several parts and to the possible warping' of the supporting structures. This puts the drive out of line and caiilses serious trouble and likely protracted stop-- page for repairs.

lt is moreover i'iecessary, from time to time, to disn'iantle the distributor, removing it from its iuierating;r location so as to make it possible to replace the blast furnace bell or hopper or other equipment. Such dismantling and reassembling should, of course,

be done as rapidly as possible so that the interruption to the operation of the blast furnace incident thereto be as short as possible. lith the device as heretofore built the dismantlinghas made it necessary to take the distributor drive apart and then, When it was reassembled it Was necessary to carefully adjust and ire-align its several parts so that they would operate eidiciently. All of this, as required, made a considerable loss of time and money.

Serial No. 25,892.

In my invention l have provided an entire drive, including the motor, integral with half of the spider supporting the ball race and distributor thereon. This drive is assembled in the shop where manufactured, is shipped integrally with the spider referred to, Without removing any of its parts, and during operation it is held rigidly with all of its parts in proper relation to each other. in case of dismantling` the furnace top for replacement of a bell, or otherwise, the spider casting and the drive are removed and set aside as one piece and when reassembled are merely set back in place without disturbing; the inter-relation of its several parts. lVith this arrangement all mechanism is taken off the platform of the furnace stack as is highly desirable and the operation of the furnace as a Whole is simplified and rendered more convenient. l

fi further object of the invention is to provide an improved form of gas seal between such distributor and the stationary hopper on which it is thus supported.

To the accomplishmentof the foregoing' and related ends, the invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the. annexed drawing' and the following description setting forth in detail certain mechanisn'i embodying' the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

Oin said annexed drawing,

Fig. is a plan view of a furnace stack equipped with my improved distributor drive' lfipj. 2 is a broken side elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a vertiinil section taken on the lane indicated by the line 3MB, Fig'. l; and i ii is a section on the same plane as Fig'. fz, but showing; a modification in one detail.

in the drawing, only the upper Wall l of the cover or cap called the gas seal for the lowermostof the two hoppers provided at the top of the furnace stack is shown, such Wall being;` of frustro-conical form and suitably supported on the upper end of the furnace shaft (not shown). Mounted in turn on such cap is a cylindrical shell 2 that constitutes the body of the second hopper or distributor. As previously indicated, such distributor requires to be rotatably supported; in fact it derives its name from this circumstance. The main elements of such rotatable mounting are a base in the form ot a spider ring casting 3 that is removably supported on the flanged neck 4l that surmounts cap l; an annular ball race 5 that is in turn supported on the upper tace ot' said spider' ring casting; and a complementary ball race 6 that is bolted to a laterally projecting flange 7 on the distributor 2. The balls 8 interposed between the races 5 and G, it will thus be seen, serve rotatably to support saiddistributor on the upper end'of cap l. The lower ball race 5 4is provided with downwardly opening Aa )ertures 9 at spaced intervals to permit the escape o'tl dust or 'like matter from such race.

The spider ring 3, it will be noted, is 'lorined with an inwardly and upwardly inclining flange lt) that. oveilies a flange ll that proiects outwardly trom the hopper 12 oi the dis .,ibutor and has a face of complementary beveled torni. Gilly enough clearance lett between the two flanges Vto permit ot the 'lree rotation of the distributor.

t special gas seal ring i3 made up ot segn'ients suitably bolted together, surrounds the hopper l2 in the space between the flange i iereon and the inwardly directed flange l seal `ring being tl O on the spider ring 3, such loosely upon the upper surface `ot said aange and having a close moving fit around the outside of rotating` hopper 12.

it is necessary, otl course, that flange 'l0 on the spider ring should `have sufiicient clearance between it and the hopper, so that they will never come into Contact with each other, due to eccentrioity ot 'the two circles, or any other cause, and thus cause friction. However, such'a clearance would permit too much gas to escape, il this opening vwere not sealed more tightly, and so torthis ypurposethe seal ring i3 is provided in supplement to the seal provided "by 'flanges l() and 1l. is just indicated said 'ring 'i3 is made to tit easily around the hopper and with stiflicientclearance so that the hopper may revolre without dran'A the ring with it. lly'this provision, the distributor is erected, regardless ot whether the hopper vis exactly coucertric with the spider, the seal ring automatically centers itself with the center o1 rotation of the hopper, and so long as the seal ring is actually larger than the hopper the latter can revolve freely, and in case the hopper shitts laterally, the ring will be moved thereby to a new location concentric with the new position ot thehopper and the seal will thus be permanently maintained `without possibility of frictional resistance to the rotation ot' the hopper. tt will thus` 'be seen that whetheig'due to lat nl matadjustinent o't'tle hopper'with respect to the spider, or tothe lowering'ot the hopper due tow .aring'ot the ball vraces or balls, or for other cause, the seal ring laid automatically is shifted to maintain the proper seal against the escape ot' gas.

ln order to further increase the resistance to the movement of gas through the opening between the seal ring and the hopper, I

`also out Agrooves or rabbets in the vertical surface ot the ring, or the outer surface oi" the hopper, 1coth. 'hus as shown in Fig. Ll, one such modified torni of seal ring il is shown, such ring having a rabbet ill on inne-r tace and the hopper l2 having a complementary rib 11i" on its outer face, so that the yescape et gases between the two surfaces is still more eficctively hindered.

The upper ball race t is formed about its entire circum'lleimnce with gear teeth le that constitute thereot an annular rack a d the drive mechanism o'lf interest in the presentconnection co-operates with ch rack to ro tate the distributor f2 in de ired manner. rllh'is drive mechanism comprises in ellect ltwo separate units, viz, an electric motor '17 and a worm reduction gear 18. Said motor is oi standard construction and is bolted directly to a depending bracket support 19 formed integral with the spider ring casting at one point, while the worm renuetion gear is attached to a similar depending 'bracket support 2O at another pointon said ring. The outwardly directed liaces ot the supports 19 and 20, to which the motor and worm gear reduction are thus attached, are not only separate but need not lie in the same plane in view ot the fact that -the casing of the worm gear reduction, as shown `in Fig. `l, is so `formed as to presentthe axis 'ot' the worm 2l that constitutes the drive `element of' said :gear in proper align- 'ment with the motor spindle 22, a fiexible coupling` 23 being vutilized to connect such spindle to the Aprojt-:cting end of' the worin.

The wornrgea-r 2li that meshes with worm 2l isfixed to a vertical spindle that. is journaled intermediately ot its ends in a bearing 26 formed directly in the housing that encloses said worm and gear, the upper end et said spindle lying alongside the rack 'l5 and being` provided with ra spur pinion 2i' that meshes with said rack.

Viththe arrangementasl set fortlrabove, it is `possible to support the vertical shaft carrying the spur Ipinion 27 and the worm wheel 24 for its `entire length and also to provide suitable thrust Yand step bearings. As built heretofore this vertical shaft had to be supportedfat theimiddle with the driving gears overhung atieach end, making a very diilicult arrangement `to maintain in alignment.

A suitable brake 3() is associated withthe motor, while a `limit switch 3l ot standard design is mounted on the gear-'casing so as to be driven from spindle 25, such switch being arranged to stop rotation ot'the annular rack l5 at predetermined intervals.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that in addition to incorporating an improved form of gas seal, which obviates the diiliculty encountered in prevailing designs that as the ball bearing which supports the distributor becomes worn frictional engage ment between the flanges that form such seal will result, I provide an extremely simple and compact driving mechanism for said distributor, the efficiency of which will be permanently maintained as its several parts are rigidly held in proper relation to each f other with a permanent oil bath providing il t) proper lubrication and from the time when manufactured and assembled in the shop there should be no necessity for disturbing` the driving mechanism in the relation of its several parts to each other for a period of many years, thus making a marked improvement over any equipment heretofore contemplated. In addition not only may a standard motor be used but this may be attached. to the depending bracket I9 without any change in its casing or base, the latter being bolted directly against such bracket.

Other modes of applying` the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention l. In blast furnace charging mechanism, the combination of a rotary distributor; a base ring providing an annular bearing for said distributor; integral brackets depending from said ring and presenting vertical clamping faces; a motor mounted on one such face; and a reduction gear mounted on the other such face, said gear being coupled to said motor and having driving connection with said distributor.

In blast furnace charging n'iechanisin, the combination of a rotary distriliutor; a base ring providing an annular bearing for said distributor; integral brackets depending from said ring and presentingvertical clamping faces; a motor mounted on one such face; a reduction gear mounted in the other such face, said gear being coupled to said motor and having driving connection with said distributor; and co-operative gas sealing flanges on said spider ring and distributor, said flanges being free to move apart upon wear of the bearings between said ring and distributor.

3. In blast furnace charging mechanism, he combination of a rotary distributor; a base ring providing an annular bearing for said distributor; integral brackets depending from said ring and presenting vertical clamping faces; a motor mounted on one such face; a reduction gear mounted in the other such face, said gear being coupled to said motor and having driving connection with said distributor; and complementary beveled gas sealing flanges on said spider ring and distributor, said flanges being free` to move apart upon wear of the bearings between said ring and distributor.

4:. In blast furnace charging mechanism, the combination of a rotary distributor; a base ring providing an annular bearing for said distributor; integral brackets depending from said ring and presenting vertical clamping faces; a motor mounted on one such face; a reduction gear mounted on the other such face, said gear being coupled to said motor and having driving connection with said distributor; an inwardly directed annular flange on said spider ring, the under side of said flange being beveled downwardly and outwardly; and an outwardly directed flange on said distributor lying beneath said first-named flange and having a complementary beveled face, whereby a gas seal is formed between said spider ring and distributor, said flanges being free to move apart upon wear of the bearings between said ring and distributor.

5. In blast furnace charging mechanism, the combination of a rotary distributor; a base ring providing an annular bearing for said distributor; integral brackets depending from said ring and presenting vertical clamping faces; integral brackets depending from the latter and presenting vertical clamping faces; a motor mounted on one such face; a reduction gear mounted on the other such face, said gear being coupled to said motor and having driving connection with said distributor; and inwardly directed annular flange on said spider ring, the under side of said flange being beveled downwardly and outwardly; an outwardly directed flange on said distributor lying` beneath said first-named flange and having a complementary beveled face, whereby a gas seal is formed between said spider ring and distributor, said flanges being free to move apart upon wear of the bearings between said ring and distributor; and a supplemental seal ring loosely supported on said firstnamed flange and having its inner face closely parallel to the adjacent wall of said hopper.

G. In blast-furnace charging mechanism, the combination with the stationary hopper; of a ring surmounting said hopper, a distributing hopper rotatably supported on said ring; and gas-sealing means comprising cooperative gas-sealing flanges on said ring and distributing hopper, said flanges being free to move compensatively upon wear of the bearings' between said ring and hopper.

7. In blast-furnace charging mechanism, the combination with the stationary hopper; of a ring surmounting said hopper, a distribnting hopper' rotatably supported on said ring; and gas-sealing means comprising complementary bevelled gas-sealing flanges on said ring and distributing hopper, said flanges being :tree .to move eompensatively upon wear ot' the bearings between said ring and hopper.

8. In blast furnace charging mechanism, the combination with the vstationary hopper; or a spider ring surmounting said hopper, a distributing hopper rotatively supported on said spider ring; .an ,outwardly directed annular flange on saidspider .ri-ng, the .under side o'l' said flange being .beveled (loavinwartglly and outward-ly; and an outwardly directed tlange yon said distributing hopper lying .-beneath said iirst-nanjied ,flange and having a complementary beveled aee, whereby la gas seal is formed between said spider ring and distributing hopper, said llanges being free to move apart upon wear of the hearings between said ring and hopper.

9. 'In blast furnace charging mechanism, vthe combination .with thestationary hopper; ot a. base ring surrounding said hopper; a revolving hopper rotatively supported on said base ring; `and a selll centering seal ring, resting onesueh base ring and having a close moving fit with the hopper.

l0.. In blast furnace .charging mechanism, the combination with the ,stationary hopper;

`-Wamel of a spider ring Asurniounting said hopper, a distributing hopper rotatively ,supported on Said spider ring; ,an outwardly directed annular frange on said spider ring, the under side of said iange being beveled downwardly andout-wardly; an outwardly directed flange on said distributing hopper lying beneath `said iirst-named flange and having a Complementary beveled face, whereby a gas seal is formed lbetween said spider ,ring and distributing hopper, said flanges being free to move apart 'upon wear of the bearings between said ring and hopper; and a supplemental seal tring loosely supported on said `first-named flange yand havinov its inner tace closely pafa'llel to rthe ladjacent 'all of said hopper.

l1. In blast furnace lcharging meehanisnn the yCombination with the stationary hopper; of a spider ring surmounting said hopper, a distributing hopper rotatively supported on said spider ring; yco-,operatve gas sealing ,flanges .on said spider ring and distributing hopper, said flanges ,being ree to move apart upon wear of the bearings between said ring and hopper; and `a supplemental lseal ring loosely supported on 4the upper ot' said tlanges and having its inner tace vclosely parallel to the adjacent Iwall of said hopper.

VSigned by me, this lthday of April, 1925.

ARTHUR Gr. MCKE'E. 

